I've recently downloaded a very interesting collectiotn through this torrent http://isohunt.com/torrent_details/15769103/indian+classical?tab=summaryI really liked G.S. Sachdev, makes me want to read the Gita all day long. It takes a lot of getting used to its sounds and phonological jargon, so I'm still only exploring his works. When I'm through it I'll move on to other stuff off that collection.

This link is an introduction to ragas, frameworks for melody and composition, which allow for indian classical music composers to be very dynamic and improvisational in their work. An interesting facet of ragas is the division of the day into Prahars or time periods at which a certain raga is best suited to be heard, in order to "colour" the mind of the listener most effectively. The concept of ragas is over two millenia old, and I believe is the basis of all music.

Ragas are very powerful and among the legends about singers such as Tansen ( 16th century A.D.) are stories of his bringing down the rains with Raga Megh Malhar ("Giver of Rain")and starting fires with the legendary raga Deepak ("Light")

Norah Jones has nothing to do with indian classical music. The beauty of indian classical music is that it is like watching an artist at work (dynamic flow of composing within a raag) rather than seeing just the final product (composition) which is why I think it is superior to Western CLassical.

Both maestros are playing a raag called Raag Malkauns, best suited to be heard after midnight. What they are playing is improvisation. It is like watching a sculpter sculpt or a potter shaping wet mud into a pot. A continuum, just like nature.

Also it would be better to look at not the technicality of the music but rather the spirit and philosophy of the cultures. According to me, Western Classical tries to build immense, magnificent structures , whereas Indian Classical is more zen in its approach, it flows with the universe, and celebrates it more than anything.

I often hear congruences between the application of 'tropical drums' (tabla) within Indian Classical music and Death/Black Metal like early Deicide or Mayhem. You could even imagine that the authentic Celtic rhythms Graveland utilize is a kind of intermediary between the tribal sound + high-'bpm' sound that tabla players can achieve, which are the most 'Metal' elements. (I'm sure, as with other elements of Celtic folk music - from the melodies to the use of drone - that these drumming traditions converge at some point in the past).

In addition to the names already recommended above, I found paying close attention to the work of flautist Hariprasad Chaurasia to be very fruitful in coming to understand the melodicism of Indian Classical music, which can be quite difficult to pick up from the kaleidescopic form of a raag, with all the other instrumental interfaces going on.

An excellent website that has a thorough database of articles, artists, raags along with samples and other information about Indian classical music.It also has information about events happening in India as well as the United States.

This should be quite helpful to almost everyone with an interest in Indian classical.

That is Norah Jones? Indian? She is beautifully captured in this photograph anyway.

As for the serious discussion, I suggest you listen to Qawwali. Qawwali singer Rahat Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan recorded a self-tited album produced by Rick Rubin (Slayer). Qawwali is Sufi music and is mostly performed in Pakistan.

Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan made a lot of cool music (I have two of his CDs), but it's worlds away from Indian classical... Of course, to our brutish Western ears a lot of very different shit from other cultures initially sounds the same

If you want to listen to Carnatic Classical violinists, suggestions would be L. Subramaniam, T.N. Krishnan and Lalgudi Jayaraman for a start. L. Subramaniam has a lot of fusion and Western Classical projects too, so make sure you pick up his pure Carnatic Classical work.

Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan made a lot of cool music (I have two of his CDs), but it's worlds away from Indian classical... Of course, to our brutish Western ears a lot of very different shit from other cultures initially sounds the same

Despite being an Indian I don't care a damn about Indian classical music, I once heard just a seconds worth of ravi shankar's music. Given my temparement and view of life and having hardly listened to it, any given day a composer like wagner, beethoven, tchaikovksy would be preferred by me if I had to make a choice between listening to Indian and Western classical music. One may try looking for Shubha Mudgal's Underscore Records, ITC Sangeet Kala Academy, Kolkata, India Today/Living Media group's label Music Today, Late M.S.Subhalakshmi. Shubha is an Indian classical singer and so was Late M.S.Subhalakshmi

Despite being an Indian I don't care a damn about Indian classical music, I once heard just a seconds worth of ravi shankar's music. Given my temparement and view of life and having hardly listened to it, any given day a composer like wagner, beethoven, tchaikovksy would be preferred by me if I had to make a choice between listening to Indian and Western classical music. One may try looking for Shubha Mudgal's Underscore Records, ITC Sangeet Kala Academy, Kolkata, India Today/Living Media group's label Music Today, Late M.S.Subhalakshmi. Shubha is an Indian classical singer and so was Late M.S.Subhalakshmi

I think there are severe inconsistencies in your taste of classical music. Shubha Mudgal as a great classical singer? What are you kidding me? Your are recommending compilations by unprofessional rip off "record labels" like India Today magazine? Most of the great Indian Classical albums since the last 30 years have been released on HMV.

I do agree that M.S.Subbalakshmi is a great singer.

But I would like to mention L.Subramanian as a great introduction to Carnatic Classical music(violin, instrumental)

I've tried looking for Indian classical albums that are lively and sound "metal". However, pretty much all the albums I've found on the net have been awful, hipsterish nonsense where they try to sound spiritual and transcendental by being useless and playing one beat per minute (and yes, I've tried downloading stuff by several of the famous names). So far the genre to me just seems to be another form of technical masturbation designed to appeal to weird peace and harmony types who do yoga, listen to "world music" and practice wicca.

I've tried looking for Indian classical albums that are lively and sound "metal". However, pretty much all the albums I've found on the net have been awful, hipsterish nonsense where they try to sound spiritual and transcendental by being useless and playing one beat per minute (and yes, I've tried downloading stuff by several of the famous names). So far the genre to me just seems to be another form of technical masturbation designed to appeal to weird peace and harmony types who do yoga, listen to "world music" and practice wicca.